isolation and shaped modern Japanese music. It is theorized that this is among the reasons that music theorists find difficulty developing a single theoretical solution for all Japanese music. Types of Japanese scales and modes Gagaku scale: Introduced from China during the Nara Period, but then later modified during the Heian Period, the Gagaku scale is a heptatonic scale, created from 12 chromatic tones and assembled by fifths. In and Yo scales: Uehara Rokushiro coined these two scales in the late 1800s. They were among the first scales developed as a scholarly approach to Japanese music. Both scales use a H W H W H pattern, but the Yo scale differs as three of its degrees are sharped. Minyo and Ritsu scales: There are various arrangements of notes that historians may consider to be Minyo and Ritsu scales, but they are usually classified as five-note scales without any semitones. They may be classified by a major second, minor Third, major second and minor third. References External links Examples of the Japanese mode from train melodies on the Tōzai Line (Kyoto) Modes (music) Pentatonic scales Japanese traditional music